playing hooky

Ok, so maybe I took a day off last week even though I already had Monday off as a holiday (president's day) but the weather was just too perfect to spend the whole week (ok, the 4-day work-week) in doors. So I burned a vacation day to go to one of my favorite places - I won't mention exactly where, but it's one of the few places I've always gone to when I need a break from city-life without having to drive for more than 45 minutes.

I used to hate this beach as a kid because during the summers, it was always too rocky and stick-y to walk around. In the winter though, the shoreline is scattered with all kinds of little shells, filled with little critters walking around in the little tide pools. There was this bird showing off for me, fluffing his feathers so of course I took a few photos of him and, as it turns out, he may very well be an albatross (according to my know-it-all boss) which I guess is a somewhat rare sighting around these parts - sort of like an LA native around here these days.

President's Day in Silver Lake with the sister:

I really like certain things about my sister's neighborhood that just don't exist on the west side. Despite the area's general trashiness there's so much good food, chatty people with friendly dogs, random guys just standing around on street corners for no apparent reason, and chickens foraging under cars for scraps of trash. We decided to hang out that day because we had both been sick earlier in the week (and therefore couldn't infect eachother) but also because she had recently broken her toe and had restricted her fast-paced-hipster-lifestyle for the weekend, thus making herself the perfect coffee-and-sandwich companion for her boring older sister who has also had a broken bone in the foot area for a few months now:

No image available...yet.

When I got home last night, I saw a four-legged critter disappearing into the walkway between my apartment's little courtyard and the alley on which I park. I turned my car to shine my headlamps in it's direction, since there aren't a lot of stray cats in my neighborhood, and he didn't look like LA's usual night-stalker - the possum. At first he looked like he had the body of a big, fluffy grey cat; until he raised his head just enough to show the mask he wore over his eyes: a raccoon! I haven't seen one in years and never in the city like this. By the time I parked my car and walked through the little walkway, he was invisible in the courtyard's shadows, though he apparently lingered in my mind long enough for my subconscious to create an interesting little narrative.

I dreamed last night that I was sitting on the ground in the middle of the walkway, my waist encircled by the arm of someone I haven't seen since the summer who now sat on my left, as was customary for us. On one side of the walkway in the alley, the raccoon rested on all fours, like how cats do when resting - my brother calls this the "loaf of bread" vs. the "cinnamon roll" for which cats are also known. Dozens of little birds scattered and hopped around him, their shadows were all cast long in the late afternoon sun.

On the other side of the walkway, in the courtyard which was still vividly lit (since the setting sun wasn't blocked by the apartment as it was in the alley) a coyote creeped past my former companion and I and into the contrasting, almost colorless alley where the raccoon and the birds quietly awaited dusk. At that moment, the birds took flight and the two animals battled it out - rolling into a two toned ball in slightly varying shades of grey.

And that's just how the dream ended. What do you think it means?

unhealthy obsession, post-modern interpretation:

i love the little feller' in the bottom left corner "struggling" to disarm himself of his proclamation! and i know i don't need to point out that the man from the internet is wearing a hat?!

i can has lawnmower?

God bless you, Martha Stewart!

She would be proud of my perfectly hard-boiled egg - no green ring around the yoke and perfectly cooked through the center. I'm sure at some point in time, this was a useful skill to have mastered, though Martha seems to be the only one of the two of us who's making any money off this rare talent these days - you go sista'.

favorite things blogpost #2

2 unrelated obsessions...

The first needs no explanation:



Here's a glimpse at (possibly) a new obsession, pictures within pictures...

The LOL cats mourn Heath Ledger.

this is how I found out...

You down with OPP's?

...other people's pets? I am. Here's a little photo-story called, the day Elvis got all the love:

singles laundry, you've come a long way baby...

No comprendo: the cat never gets it...

composishunz! LOL!

somebody cue the monolith music please, I've created life again...

whole lotta fritatta...

Mmmmm....Cuisinart stainless mirror finish ALOMST makes being a lonely-old-cat-lady worth it, don't you think?

a very special photo-nap!

buildin'a tiny lil'army!

Just add light, water and oxygen...

and just when I thought he was dead...

he moved!

some things that are still too hard...

favorite things blogpost #1 (possibly of many...)

I think my produce is trying to tell me something...

"Your stocking won't be the only thing getting stuffed this year!"

Tofurkey and sweet potato fries with home-made cran sauce, MMMmmmmm.....

let's review:

1. I have a grasshopper living in my back yard who makes me feel like a very lucky girl.



2. My sister is the cool one with the exciting lifestyle, not me.





3. I have a lime tree in my back yard.



4. I am recently single for what feels like the first time ever and have been working weird, long hours. Therefore I have nothing but condiments and beverages in my fridge like an "f"ing bachelor. Also, I never realized my name is an anagram for heal.



5. This shit cracks me up.





6.



7. Roller Disco with the sister and her lovely friends, myeah.





8. Long converging strings of light lining roads at night like this (though not the best example) make me feel like I'm very far away from home.



9. Plants grow in the direction of sunlight.



10. Me and mum.



11. "Jack Jack" the 8 week old English Bulldog (not mine) who I fell madly in love with as soon as I extended my hand to greet him and he reacted by stumbling over to it just to paw and sniff at it like an awkward puppy.



12. Fred approves wholeheartedly of our new green-fuzzy-ikea-blanket.

I think this is how it officially starts:

So the moment just collided when I got this new point-and-shoot camera (not my first, just my newest in a while since breaking my last...what?) AND a new 7 piece Cuisinart stainless steel cooking set as a gift (for sabotaging all of my personal relationships) for the last 5 years of (dedicated submission and) service to the company for which I work. I won't get too deep for a first(ish) post so I'll just briefly mention that I have a cat and I like to garden, cook, swim and do other crafty/sporty/kinda-lame-kinda-adventurous things and then take pictures of all that. Also, sometimes I make commentary on these photos or just sleeplessly rant about things. Here goes, wish me luck!